“smell a rat”是“闻老鼠”？

　　小时候大家应该都看过《猫和老鼠》吧，虽然全程没有一句话。但画面却有很强的吸引力，Tom & Jerry 陪伴了我整个童年时光，尤其喜欢小老鼠Jerry的聪明机智。但现实中的老鼠就没有这么可爱了，我们汉语中关于老鼠的描述也多为贬义，比如胆小如鼠啊、贼眉鼠眼啊，过街老鼠人人喊打之类的。其实在英语当中，也多是如此……下面就来看看英文中关于老鼠的表达吧。

　　1、smell a rat

　　怀疑

　　释义：“when someone suspect that something is wrong about a situation”，we say he smells a rat”

　　指某人怀疑或者察觉到了什么

　　I don't want to say he steals my book, but I really smell a rat.

　　虽然我不想说他偷了我的书，但我确实觉得不对劲。

　　2、as poor as church mice

　　一贫如洗

　　释义：be very poor

　　一贫如洗、穷得叮当响，不名一文

　　Some people are as poor as church mice, but they are happy.

　　有些人穷得要命，可他们却很快乐。

　　3、play a cat-and-mouse game

　　欲擒故纵

　　释义：“to play a cruel game with somebody in your power by changing your behaviour very often, so that they become nervous and do not know what to expect”

　　玩儿猫戏耍老鼠的把戏，也就是中文里的“欲擒故纵”。

　　He thought the police were playing a cat-and-mouse game and waiting to trap him.

　　他认为警察是在欲擒故纵，等着抓他。

　　4、like rats deserting/leaving a sinking ship

　　老鼠弃沉船

　　释义：“leaving a place, organization, activity, etc. very quickly and in large numbers, because it is failing in some way”

　　这句短语常常带有讽刺意味，与中文里的“大难临头各自飞”有些相似。

　　Former friends have deserted the couple like rats leaving a sinking ship.

　　从前的朋友像老鼠弃沉船般离开了这对夫妻。

　　5、when the cat’s away, the mice will play

　　狸猫不在，老鼠闹债

　　释义：“people enjoy themselves more and behave with greater freedom when the person in charge of them is not there”

　　也就是中国的那句老话：山中无老虎，猴子称大王。

　　6、the rat race

　　激烈竞争

　　释义：“a way of life in modern society, in which people compete with each other for power and money”

　　现代社会中人们为了权力和金钱而互相竞争的一种生活方式

　　He decided to get out of the rat race, and went to work on a farm.

　　他决定退出激烈竞争，然后去一个农场工作。